Isolated Lukashenko sworn in for fourth term

President Alexander Lukashenko has been sworn in for a fourth term, in a lavish ceremony boycotted by the West over a crackdown on the Belarus opposition.

Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 16 years and was once described by Washington as Europe's last dictator, has imprisoned some of the opposition's most prominent figures in a crackdown after the polls.

In his oath-taking at the immense Palace of the Republic in Minsk, Mr Lukashenko pledged to serve the Belarussian people and also "respect and preserve the rights and freedom of people and citizens."

But in a stern speech attended by thousands in the vast main hall, he then warned that the "time for revolutions and revolts was over" and vowed to protect the country from threats at home and abroad.

He praised Belarussian voters for "not ceding to political provocations and the hysteria of politicians and venal journalists".

Ahead of the highly choreographed ceremony, Mr Lukashenko was driven through the eerily deserted streets of Minsk in a convoy headed by a fleet of nine motorcycles.